Means for holding shoe uppers in lasted position



y 1939- A. SCHOENKY 2,158,203

MEANS FOR HOLDING SHOE UPPERS IN L-ASTED POSITION Filed April 23, 1937 Patented May 16, 1939 MEANS FOR HOLDING SHOE UPPERS IN LASTED POSITION August R. Schoehkmfiwampscott, Mass, assign- .or .to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Patersoh, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 23, 1937, Serial No. 138,613

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for use in the manufacture of shoes for holding the uppers in lasted position until extraneous holding means is no longer required by reason, for example, of the setting of cement used 'tosecure the uppers to insoles. An object of the invention is to provide an upper-holding device which will press the upper effectively upon the insoleand which may be quickly applied to the shoe and removed therefrom. The device herein shown is formed particularly for use on the toe endsof shoes, but it. will be understood that the invention is also :applicable to means'for use on other portions of shoes.

For the purposes in view the invention provides a novel upper-holding device aportion or which is arranged to enter a .hole previously formed in the bottom of the last to retain the device in upper-holding position. In the construction shown the device comprises an upper-engaging member formed to extend around the end of the shoe bottom in engagement with the marginal portion of the upper overlying the insole and having thereon a resilient finger normally i nclin'ed relatively to the upper-engaging tace o'f the member but adapted to be sprung toward a position of parallelism with that face, and a pin fast on the finger arranged .to enter the hole in the last and to be tipped by the finger to cr'am p it in-the hole and thus maintain the' finger under-such stress as to hold the'inernber pressed upon the upper. The device may be readily applied in upper-holding position merely by pressure against it sufficient to bend the finger and force the pin into the hole in the last, and may be as readily removed by force acting heightwise of the last to withdraw the pin from the hole.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a top view of an upper-holding device constructed in accordance with the present invention for use on the toe end of a shoe;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device with a portion thereof in section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of a toe-lasting machine with a shoe in lasting position, showing the upper-holding device applied to the shoe, and

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation, with parts broken away, further illustrating the relation of the device to the shoe and last.

Lasts have sometimes been provided heretofore with a plurality of holes in the bottoms of their foreparts to receive pins fast on a shoe-positioning member of a toe-lasting machine, one such hole being located comparatively near the end of the toe midway between the opposite sides" of the last and two others farther from'the end of the toe in spaced relation widthwise of the last. In accordance with the disclos'ure oi" United States Letters Patent No. 1,674,060, grantedon June 19, 1928, upon an application of Arthur F.

Pym, the pins thus determine in all respects the relation of the toe end oi'th'e' shoe and last to the toe-lasting wipers, the end faces of the pins abutting against metal bushings in' the last to determine the relation of the bottom of the toe tothe plane of the wipers. It has been proposed,'how 1 ever, to determine the relation of the bottom of the toe to the plane of the wipers by engagement of the member or plate which carries the pins with the insole, the holes in the bushings being madelong enough to prevent engagement of the bushings with the end faces of the pins. 7 In that case the pins serve only to determine the position of "the shoe lengthwise and laterally and with respect to any lateral swinging movements For this purpose it is contemplated that two pins will ordinarily serve as well as three, and it is thereforeproposed to utilize the foremost of the three holes heretofore provided in the last to cooperate with the device herein shown for holding the toeend portion of the upper in lasted positioni It will beunderstood, however, that the invention is not thus limited in utility and that a different or special hole may be provided in the last to cooperate with the upper-holding device if desired or in case the last is not already provided with the three holes above mentioned.

In Figs. 3 and 4 a shoe and its last are shown, by way of example, in a toe-lasting machine of the same general character as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,146,762, granted on February 14, 1939, on an application of A. F. Pym and R. E. Duplessis. The shoe is held by a toe rest 2 against a fixed plate 4 which engages the insole and thereby determines the relation of the bottom of the toe end of the shoe to the plane of the toe-lasting wipers 6. The plate 4 in the construction shown carries two pins 8 which extend through holes in the insole into holes ID in metal bushings l2 in the last to determine the position of the shoe and last lengthwise and laterally and with respect to lateral swinging movement. A similar bushing 14 in the last is provided with a hole I6 perpendicular to the bottom face of the last and locatedmidway between the opposite sides of the toe and beyond the end of the plate 4 PATENT Q F I E;

to cooperate with the upper-holding device provided by the present invention. It will be understood that to permit such use of the hole It the plate 4 is shorter than plates heretofore provided with three pins.

The upper-holding device comprises a member I 8 which may be made of sheet metal and is suitably curved to extend around the toe end of the shoe bottom with its edge face l9 in engagement with the marginal portion of the upper overlying the insole, this edge face in the construction shown lying in a plane. This member may be of any desired length to extend as far lengthwise of the shoe as it is necessary or desirable to hold the upper under pressure. Integral with the member I8 is a straight resilient finger 20 projecting from the portion of the member located at the extreme end of the shoe and arranged to extend lengthwise of the shoe over the insole. This finger is normally inclined toward its free end away from the plane of the upper-engaging edge face IQ of the member I 8, as shown in Fig. 2, but may be sprung into a position more nearly parallel to that by pressure against it. Fast on the free end of the finger 20 is a pin 22 perpendicular to the finger. This pin is adapted to enter the hole It in the last through a corresponding hole in the insole and may conveniently be of slightly smaller diameter than the hole I 6.

It will be understood that in lasting the toe the operator wipes the marginal portion of the upper inwardly over the insole by use of the wipers 6 after applying suitable cement for securing the upper to the insole. He may then retract the wipers far enough to provide room for the upperholding device. In applying this device to the shoe the operator presents it initially with the end of the pin 22 at the upper end of the hole I6 in the last and with the member I 8 tipped so that the pin is approximately parallel to the hole. By pressure of his thumb on the upper end of the pin and on the resilient finger 28 the operator then forces the pin into the hole while springing the finger into a more nearly parallel relation to the edge face l9 of the member [8 as this member, due to resistance of the shoe, assumes an upper-holding position parallel to the shoe bottom (Fig. 4). The finger 20, by its tendency to tip the pin 22, then cramps the pin in the hole I 6 so that by the frictional action of the bushing M on the pin the device is held in operative position with the finger under such stress as to press the member l8 firmly down on the upper. With the device thus attached to the shoe, the shoe is removed from the lasting machine. After the upper has thus been held under pressure a sufiicient time for the cement to set, the upper-holding device is removed from the shoe, which may be conveniently done by a pull applied to the finger 20 and the pin 22 or by use of a tool inserted under the finger to pry it away from the shoe bottom. The inner edge portion of the overlasted margin of the upper may thereafter be trimmed off, if desired.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device for holding an end of an upper in lasted position upon an insole on a last, said device comprising an uppenengaging member formed to extend around the end of the shoe bottom over the insole and having integral therewith a resilient finger projecting from the portion thereof located at the extreme end of the shoe and normally inclined relatively to the upperengaging face of said member but adapted to be sprung toward a position of parallelism with said face, and a pin on the free end of said finger extending in substantially perpendicular relation thereto and arranged to enter a hole in the last perpendicular to the bottom face thereof and to be tipped by the finger to cramp it in said hole and thus maintain the finger under such stress as to hold said member pressed upon the upper.

2. A device for holding an end of an upper in lasted position upon an insole on a last, said device comprising a sheet metal member formed to extend around the end of the shoe bottom over the margin of the upper on the insole and provided with an upper-engaging face lying substantially in a plane, said member having integral therewith a substantially straight resilient finger projecting from the portion of the member located at the extreme end of the shoe and normally inclined toward its free end away from said plane but adapted to be sprung toward parallel relation to said plane, and a projection on the free end of said finger arranged to enter a hole in the bottom of the last and to be cramped in said hole by the tendency of that end of the finger to spring away from the bottom of the last.

AUGUST R. SCHOENKY. 

